U.S. President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his “courage” in taking steps to advance bilateral diplomacy with Washington, at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Tuesday.

The statement stands in stark contrast to Trump’s first UNGA address in September 2017 when he called Kim “rocket man”, refusing to use his actual name, and threatened the total destruction of North Korea.

“With the support of many countries here today we have engaged with North Korea to replace the specter of conflict with a bold and new push for peace,” Trump said.

“In